Golf is a highly popular worldwide source of exercise and recreation for persons of all ages and levels of skill. Anyone who has attempted to hit a golf ball realizes that it is not an easy endeavor. To become proficient in the game it is necessary for the golfer to develop a precision swing so that he or she can accurately strike the ball with the golf club in order to propel the ball in the desired line of flight toward the hole. While practicing, typical weekend golfers do not hit many of the balls properly and usually hit most of the balls in the bucket in attempting to determine why he/she is not hitting the balls properly. For example, the golfer may try to concentrate on watching the ball, making sure to turn the shoulders and hips, making sure not to have a "reverse weight shift", trying not to "hit from the top", trying to watch out for that "flying elbow". By the time the golfer figures out what the proper swing should be, he or she is either out of time or out of practice balls. Thus, the golfer has not only wasted the practice time, but the balls hit were hit wrong which has engraved negative swing mechanics.
Inventions have been developed over the years for the purpose of assisting a golfer to develop a precision swing. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,718,640 and 5,188,365 disclose examples of one type of such invention which generally are harnesses or limb guiding means intended to assist a golfer in developing a precision golf swing. Often these known devices are too complex and try to control all aspects of the body at once. The device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,365 restrains the golfer at the leading knee, leading wrist, trailing elbow and waist. One problem with this device such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,640 is that the trailing elbow is connectably restrained to the trailing side of the waist which prevents proper follow through of the golf swing. Another device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,773,691 avoids this problem by providing a harness with a diagonal guide rail or rod member which allows the trailing elbow harness to travel up and across the body. This rod is not adjustable to different angles which may be required for different users of varying body heights and builds. While this device is superior to the others in that it allows a follow through to the swing, the follow through may not be part of a precision swing due to drag of the connecting ring traveling up the rod and the fact that the rod may be at an improper angle. The rod may also interfere with the movement of the trailing arm during follow through.
Accordingly, a need exists to provide a simple and effective apparatus for developing a golf swing which eliminates many of the swing problems which occur during a full golf swing.